Snyder takes next step to get FEMA flood assistance

9:47 PM, August 22, 2014

Gov. Rick Snyder asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help the state and locals assess the damages caused by last week's historic flood in metro Detroit, it was announced Friday, Aug. 22, 2014. Snyder helped with flood cleanup Aug. 15, 2014, by carrying dripping wet carpeting onto the curb at the Cahaney home on Farnum Street in Royal Oak. / Jessica J. Trevino/Detroit Free Press

Detroit Free Press Staff Writers

Gov. Rick Snyder officially asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help the state and locals do a preliminary assessment of the damage caused by last week’s historic flood in metro Detroit, it was announced Friday.

The request is the next step before the state can officially ask for a disaster declaration from President Barack Obama.

“By requesting a joint Preliminary Damage Assessment, we are continuing on the path toward the potential request of a presidential disaster declaration for southeast Michigan,” Snyder said in a statement released Friday morning. “This assessment is critical to help confirm reported damages and make our case to the federal government for assistance to our affected communities and Michiganders.”

The state-announced assessments will begin next week and should take three to four days, said Brianna Briggs, spokeswoman for the Michigan State Police’s Emergency Operation Center. Then it will be up to Snyder to decide whether to ask for the federal disaster declaration, or determine whether the state can handle the cost on its own.

The assessment will take a look at the loss estimates provided by local units of government for individual homeowners and renters, businesses and public infrastructure and buildings.

For many, the flooding, cleanup and replacement of valuable appliances has created hardships.

The City of Madison Heights this week announced an online crowd-funding effort to help disabled, low-income and elderly residents clean up and replace furnaces and water heaters. Donations can be made on a gofundme page that by Friday morning had raised $810 toward a $50,000 goal.

Paul Fanelli, co-owner of the Servpro franchise based in Ferndale, said the magnitude of the flooding here drew cleanup crews from across the country, including Colorado, Kentucky and New York.

“From 6 p.m. Monday (Aug. 11) until 7 p.m. the following day, my partner and I did nothing but answer the phone,” he said. “We just stayed up 25 straight hours answering phone calls. It was crazy.”

The restoration company uses special equipment to remove floodwater, dry basements and remove mold. He said his franchise usually operates with about two to three crews available — each with two to three workers. After the flood, about 200 to 300 crews came to the area to help, Fanelli said.

Early on, the wait time for Servpro to come to a person’s house reached as long as a week. It dropped to about a couple days as of Wednesday. The phone that day continued to ring about once per minute, Fanelli said, but it was less frequent than the nonstop calls from a week earlier.

Fanelli said he expects his franchise will finally be caught up in about three weeks to a month from now. His own basement in Sterling Heights flooded, but he hasn’t had time to deal with it, he said.

A number of affected communities are providing advice and assistance through their websites or city halls. The Macomb County Health Department is making 150 cleanup kits available to flood victims at health department locations in St. Clair Shores and Warren.

The kits include a broom, mop, bleach, bucket, gloves, trash bags and other cleaning supplies.

The kits will be available at each location from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday, while supplies last.

The locations are the Southwest Health Center, 27690 Van Dyke, in Warren and the Southeast Health Center, 25401 Harper, in St. Clair Shores.